Bad Wolf
by Wolvmbm
Summary: The Zeo Rangers search for a high level energy source before the Machine Empire can get their hands on it. However it's Kat that finds the power, the power of the Bad Wolf.
1. The Search

This has been taken with some liberties from the Bad Wolf plot from Doctor Who. The following happens before Billy's go to Aquitar, but I have taken some liberties with that also, so just bear with me. First Power Rangers fic, let's see how this works.

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><p>"Rangers," their encased mentor, Zordon, said to the Zeo Rangers, "you must search the desert terrain thoroughly but quickly."<p>

A new threat was baffling the Zeo team. A high source of energy was found in a Californian desert. So far, the power was untouched, but fears of the Machine Empire looming overhead, it was determined that action had to be taken now. It was the fearless leader, Tommy's, decision to head down and see what exactly was emitting such a force.

The young blonde genius standing in front of Zordon's energy tube turned to face his friends. "I couldn't get a complete examination of the area- there must be something blocking the signals," Billy Cranston uttered under his breath," but that only raises more notion that whatever is hiding there." Adam moved closer to the control panel where Billy just was, to see if he could spot anything. Tanya moved not far behind him. Kat, who was standing not too far near Tanya, looked ready to collapse.

The rangers looked nowhere near close to accepting the challenge before them. Rocky DeSantos, the Blue Zeo Ranger looked like he'd just woken up from sleep; Tanya Sloan and Adam Park, Zeo Rangers Yellow and Green respectively, were both adorning matching looks of high alert with smears of pencil marks over their arms and face. Tommy Oliver, Zeo Ranger Red whose best method was to practice defense tactics, was sweating head to toe after a long workout at the Community Center. And Kat Hillard, the Pink Zeo Ranger, was standing wearing a lab apron and goggles. It's was the week before midterms.

"Kat, are you okay? Is everyone ok?" Billy questioned.

Kat put her hand up before starting. "I'm fine Billy, we all are, I'm sure. It's just pre-exam stress."

"But now, we gotta turn our attention to something more important," Tommy declared, with such a tone showing that the stresses of exams would not interfere in the way of their ranger duties.

"Be careful, Rangers!" the small robotic assistant, Alpha exclaimed.

Billy added, "We will be able to teleport you to a location somewhat outside the desert, but since I can't get a good grip on the location, I'm afraid you'll have to travel the rest on foot. Once I'm able to hold down any signal…"

"You'll let us know," Tanya finished for him. Billy gave her a slight smile and a nod in appreciation.

"But right now, the only danger we have to face is really awkward tan lines," Blue Ranger Rocky commented.

Tommy rolled his eyes, before taking a step forward. "We'll let you guys know if something's up."

"Good luck," Alpha chimed.

"Alright guys," Tommy called as Tanya and Adam repositioned themselves on either side of their leader, "It's morphin' time!"

Flashes of pink, yellow, green, blue, and red streaked the room as the young blonde genius returned his attention towards surveillance of the area.

* * *

><p>The five suited rangers found themselves standing in the middle of a barren desert.<p>

"Well, looks like nothing is here. Now I can go back to my nap..." Rocky surveyed quickly.

Tommy reached out a hand to stop him. "Not so fast, Rocko. We haven't even started, and by the looks of it, we got a lot of ground to cover."

"Zordon did want us out of here fast," Adam commented.

"And for a good reason too," Tanya said. "This place gives me the creeps ." She moved closer to Adam.

Tommy gave a quick glance around before turning and facing his team. "We need to split up. Two people to stay here and survey the land on foot, three to head up to those mountains," he said pointing to the rocks," and see what's up there."

"Kat, Tanya and Rocky, you guys are climb team. Me and Adam will be ground team," Tommy assigned. "Communication signals are blocked, so we'll meet up back here. If you find anything at all," he cautioned, "go back to the place where we were able to teleport in. You should be able to get a hold of Billy and the Power Chamber and teleport back."

"Right," the rangers said in acceptance.

"Okay, let's go."

With that, the rangers split, Adam and Tommy on the ground, Tanya, Kat, and Rocky to the mountains.

* * *

><p>On top of the mountain, there was a small gap. The three Zeo rangers took off their helmets to get a better look.<p>

"I think there's something down there," Tanya said.

Rocky scoffed, "Yeah, dirt and sand." That received an elbow in the ribs from Tanya. Kat sat herself down after the arduous climb.

Tanya looked over to her teammate. "Kat, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Tanya. Just all this stress from exams is getting to me," she said stating the same reason she gave previously to Billy.

Putting his hands on his hips, Rocky affirmed, "The sooner we're done with this, the better."

"Yeah," Tanya nodded in agreement. "Let's check out that hole, and then make it back to the teleportation point."

"I'll go." Kat stood up and faced them. "I'll check out what's down there."

"But Kat…" Tanya responded.

"I'm small enough to fit in there, I can get in and get out, and then we all can get back to studying."

"Yippee," Rocky said sarcastically.

Kat made her way over to the hole before Tanya grabbed her wrist. "Are you sure about this, Kat? I could go down there. Rocky could go down there."

"I'll be alright, Mother Tan," Kat chided. "Besides, Rocky's claustrophobic. He freaked out that one time when shoved him in the storage room at Ernie's, remember?"

"That mop was looking at me funny," Rocky defended.

Kat slowly descended down the small hole, finding her footing easy. However, she felt a strong pull as she climbed lower and lower. Once the small closing should have been completely dark, she found it illuminated. She stepped off the wall, finding stable ground, and stared at the source of the light.

"Kat! Kat, did you find anything?" Tanya yelled.

Kat however gave no reply as the light seemed to grow brighter. Kat's blue eyes glowed, changing to a gold color, absorbing the light energy. As Kat's eyes glowed, the light in the hole diminished, until there was no more light. Kat gave a huge exhale, emitting gold dust. She looked down at her hands, feeling powered, stronger than she ever was or could be as a ranger.

She closed her eyes, hearing a lone wolf howl in the distance.

"Kat!"

"Kat!" Rocky's voice now joined in the frantic call. Has she been down there long? Time seemed endless now. Climbing back up from the hole seemed effortless, something she attributed to the newfound power.

Rocky and Tanya extended hands to help her up, but their hands went untouched as Kat was easily able to maneuver herself out. Rocky and Tanya both looked at each other in slight shock.

"Kat?" Tanya began. "Did you find anything down there?"

Kat shook her head, facing away from the pair as if her face would give off any clue. "Nope. Didn't see a thing."

Something seemed off to Tanya and Rocky. "She probably really isn't feeling well," Rocky suggested quietly to Tanya. Kat however was able to hear this and went with their train of thought. She turned to face them.

"Let's head back now, guys. I…" she hesitated, "I'm starting to get a headache."

Tanya and Rocky, both looking relieved to have an answer to her behavior, rushed up beside her.

"Of course, Kat," Tanya consoled.

"Let's start to head back down. Do you think you can make it?" Rocky asked, genuinely concerned.

She nodded so her voice wouldn't betray her. She could probably fly back down if she wanted; the power seemed to know no bounds. It filled her with excitement, giddiness, thrill, pleasure…

And it also scared her to her very core.

* * *

><p>Teleporting back, they found Tommy and Adam already at the Power Chamber. Tanya rushed over to give Adam, who was near the control panels, a hug, and Tommy walked up to debrief on what he and Adam found.<p>

"I don't even know what it is, but it seemed out of place," he explained. Rocky reached out to scan the foreign object himself. It was a piece of metal, very durable, very strong, with something written on it.

Rocky could only make out a few letters. "B D," he read on one line, "F?" was on the next line. "What does that mean?"

Billy replied, taking a hold of the metal piece. "I have no clue, but I think it's a message being sent from whoever controls the energy source. If we can find out what this means, then we're one step closer to tracking down this energy."

Kat looked around nervously. The rational side of her knew she should say something, but the powerful side was taking over, telling her to keep quiet and keep the rangers off her trail. If they knew she had absorbed the energy, they'd try to extract it from her. And she wanted it to stay, she needed it to stay.

However her nervous glances caught the eye of Billy. They made eye contact and Billy swore he heard his ninjetti spirit: a wolf, howl. He stepped forward as if something was drawing him towards her, something intimidating, something cunning, something lupine.

"My head," she murmured keeping her intense stare with Billy. Rocky quickly remembered Kat not feeling well and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, much to Tommy's displeasure. But that gesture was enough to break the attraction between her and Billy, as Billy shook his head, trying to wrap his mind as to what just happened.

"You guys, Kat's not feeling well," Rocky explained.

Tanya walked over to her. "She started to get a headache on the mountain. I think this exam stress has been really getting to her."

"I think it's been getting to all of us," Tommy admitted. "Let's call it a night and pray Mondo doesn't decide to attack."

"Knock on wood," Rocky added.

"Come on, Kat, I'll take you home," Tanya reassured. Kat gave one last look to Billy before they left. Pink and yellow stripes decorated the Chamber.

Rocky stepped over to Adam, teasing, "Looks like your girlfriend's leaving you for another woman."

Adam gave a slight chuckle.

"Come on Adam," Rocky said, mocking Tanya, "I'll take you home."

Adam gave Rocky a light shove, all in good jest. "Hilarious, Rocko."

Tommy wanting to feel useful approached the control panels, but Billy stopped him. "Why don't you go to sleep, Tommy. You seem pretty worn out yourself," he suggested.

Tommy slowly nodded, feeling out of his element and delusional by his constant workout. "Okay, but let me know if there's any news."

"You'll be the first," Billy stated.

Tommy pointed both to Rocky and Adam before leaving. "You two, behave yourselves."

"Yes, Father," Rocky said jokingly. "Maybe if we behave, Father will let us hang with the other kids in the neighborhood!" he said to Adam, garnering a laugh.

"Rocky, I wouldn't let you near anything with a pulse," Tommy replied. A red flash marked his departure. Adam returned his attention to the control panel while Rocky took a seat on a nearby table. Billy however stood in the middle of the chamber, rubbing his chin.

"Billy, there's something wrong with this scan," Adam said with a slight frown. "There are no more energy readings from the desert."

Rocky stood with a confused look on his face. Billy turned around to read over the scan.

"So this means we went out there for nothing?" Rocky asked.

Adam shrugged. "I think I read the scans right."

"You did," Billy assured. There were energy readings before they left; now they are gone. And that weird incident with Kat just now….

"Would you guys mind staying for a few more minutes?" Billy questioned as frantic as his mind was racing.

"Sure Billy."

"Yeah, do you have a clue what's going on?" Rocky said.

Billy pulled out a chair and sat in front of the main access control system, his mind completely focused. "Well to know what's going on, I need to know what happened. Tell me everything that occured in that desert, leave nothing out."

The discarded piece of metal, now lying on a table a good distance away from the three boys, shined a faint gold, the words BAD WOLF barely visible in its glow.


	2. The Rebellion

Before Gold Ranger, before Aquitar part one, pulled from the Whoiverse, you can tell which is not mine.

* * *

><p>"Make sure the Cogs are upgraded to their fullest ability, General!"<p>

"Yes, King Mondo." He bowed deep in respect.

"Good, now is there anything else that I'm missing? My Queen?" He looked to his left.

Queen Machina shook her head no. She replied, "No, your highness."

Facing his right, he turned his attention to his son. "What about you, my wonderful Prince?"

"I want…the moon, Daddy!" Sprocket said.

"Yes, get Prince Sprocket the moon. Now off you go," King Mondo dismissed.

General Gear rolled his machine eyes at Prince Sprocket's outrageous request. In the long line of many, but outrageous still none the least. He couldn't understand why such a family was in a high position. He headed back away from the Royal Chamber, towards the path of the Army area, but deviated from the path down a small narrow passageway. He stood in front of door. Knocking once, the door opened just a crack.

"Pass code?" The squeaky voice asked behind it.

"Oh shut up and let me in," he grumbled in reply.

The door opener jumped in fear. "General, what a pleasant surprise! We all thought the King would hold you for much longer!" It was Klank, one of the top two robots that serve the Royal House of Gadgetry, who opened the door and allowed General Gear to fully enter.

The room was darkly lit, lighting a small round table. Around that table, there sat Orbus: the other robot to serve the Royal House, both working as double agents, King Aradon: Mondo's archnemesis , Louie Kaboom: an ally of Rita and Zedd who proved himself knowledgeable at battle strategies, though Gear didn't trust him as far as he could throw him, Borax: a member of the bounty hunter race on Vorax, who sole reason for being there was the large bounty on King Mondo's head, and Specialist Brass: General Gear's assistant.

It was a motley crew of the best of the worst all assembled by General Gear to achieve one thing: to overthrow King Mondo and take control of the Machine Empire and rule space. They were the Machine Rebellion.

They started formulating a while ago, and were eager now more than ever to make an attack.

"We're waiting too long," complained King Aradon. He's reasons for joining the Rebellion? He wanted leverage over the Machine Empire, another kingdom to add under his rule. "The longer we wait; King Mondo gets stronger and stronger. And I'm not sure Thing 1 and Thing 2 here can keep their traps shut any longer," he said pointing to Klank and Orbus.

"Hey!" They responded in unison.

It was the one downfall when working with the best of the worst, their lack of patience was worst than Prince Sprocket's spoiled behavior.

"The time will come, King. Specialist is doing all that he can to rewire the Cogs under our control. Klank and Orbus both have also set aside monsters than will join us in battle," General explained as Klank and Orbus turned to King Aradon, taunting him.

Louie sighed in frustration, "Well, we're not getting any younger here, Gear."

"Take your time," Borax said. The longer it took, the higher the bounty went on Mondo's head. "I can wait forever until we attack."

"But I can't!" The King stood up in frustration. "I want action, and I want it now."

"King, all of you, calm down, you have yet to hear my news," General Gear said, calming the room. The others listened in intently.

"Well, come on, General, don't keep us any longer!" Orbus cried.

The General sat back in his seat, before informing. "There is a spirit, energy so great that a full scan of it seems impossible. The only records that indicate a similar energy show it's a bit age duration, whirl occasional life flux. "

Confusion was all over the group's faces.

"A time vortex," he further added.

Still confused.

He sighed, "A really powerful light thing."

"Oh," the Rebels murmured as they understood.

"We get a hold of this; we can easily destroy King Mondo, and have the Empire to ourselves and rule space."

"I want it," Borax growled.

King Aradon asked, "Does Mondo have any clue about this energy?"

"King Mondo has no clue what he's having for dinner, I highly doubt he recognizes anything," General answered.

Louie moved closer to Gear, "And just where is this power?"

"You wanted battle, didn't you?" General replied. He laid out a map of the galaxy on the round table, pointing to each planet. "We attack Triforia first. Then we move to Earth. Next it's KO-35 and Aquitar..."

"Planet by planet? Are you sure this strategy is wise?" Louie asked.

"They are placed by the likelihood that the energy would be there."

"When do we attack? Dawn?" Klank questioned, excited about the looming battle.

"No, we wait…"

The entire table groaned in frustration, except Borax of course.

"We wait," General repeated, "until there is a break in Mondo's control. When he's at his weakest, we make our move towards the kingdom, overthrow Mondo and attack the planets."

"Then the Empire is ours," Louie said devilishly.

"No," Gear corrected. "The galaxy is ours."

* * *

><p><em>What happened yesterday?<em> Kat thought to herself as she sat at a distant table at Ernie's Juice Bar. Her head was pounding; her arms felt heavy, her whole entire body was sore. She tried to shake off her uncomfort and focus on the wonderful task at hand, Biology review. It was her first exam.

She flipped pass many of the pages in her notebook, material was she was sure she knew, until a page caught her attention. BAD WOLF was written in thick, bold lettering, and Kat gave a smirk in delight, her pain quickly gone as she felt rejuvenated, her right hand becoming encased in a mist of gold dust.

"Kat?"

The voice broke her out of her trance. She turned around quickly. She was met with Tanya's smile.

"I knew it was you." Tanya pulled out a chair next to her, sitting beside her friend. "You're the only person I know who can handle all this noise while studying," she said motioning around them.

Kat shrugged. "The background noise is sort of comforting, you know? It's almost a lull." She looked down at her notebook, the BAD WOLF page still facing her. She hastily slammed it shut, much to Tanya's amusement.

"You okay there, Kat?" she asked almost chuckling.

Kat seemed alarmed. Part of her wanted to show her the words, in hopes that Tanya could stop this power from controlling her altogether, but the other part of Kat, all that power, didn't want Tanya to know, in fear that Tanya wouldn't understand that she wanted the power. The things she could do with this energy, the things she** had** to do…

"Hello, earth to Kat?" Tanya waved her hand in front her face, snapping Kat out of her trance.

"I'm sorry, Tanya, it's just…"

"Exams, I know. We're all acting a little weird," she said putting her hands in front of her. "But you may have to break from your studies for a bit. Billy wants to see you."

Kat's breath hitched in her throat. "Wha…what could he possibly want? I haven't done anything, maybe it's power upgrades or something…"

"Kat, you're talking 50 miles per hour. And you only do that when you're nervous…"

"I'm not nervous," she denied as she crossed her arms. She wasn't, she wanted to see him. She remembered the feeling when they made eye contact last night in the Power Chamber: the pull, the attraction, closing in on a prey…however she didn't know if it was the energy in her or not that made her so anxious.

"There's no need to be, he just wants to run a few tests. He said he'd ask you questions to help you study during it, since I gave him a rough time from taking you away from your 'natural habitat'," Tanya said with a smirk, referring to the scattered books and papers on Ernie's table.

"Well the sooner I get there, the faster I can return to my niche," Kat said playing along, packing rapidly.

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><p>Reviews, ideas, anything is welcome.<p> 


	3. The Test

Thanks all! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. This during Zeo, before Billy went to Aquitar the first time for timeline's sake.

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><p>He was notified of her presence, not by the pink beams of her teleportation, but by the hairs standing on the back of his neck.<p>

Billy stood on the opposite side of the Power Chamber. His shoulders caved in slightly as a natural response. 'Alright, just breathe,' he whispered to himself. 'Nothing out of the ordinary; there's absolutely nothing different about Kat.'

He turned around, correcting his posture, and faced her.

Kat met his eyes, but was unable to move forward, as if there was a force field in between the two. She began to walk with her eyes narrowed and her steps slow, in a circular formation around the force field, around Billy.

Billy felt threatened. He felt as if he was being preyed upon, as if Kat was a wolf and he was raw meat. He met her head on, reacting to his biological instinct and began to walk opposite her in the circle.

It was a dance between the two, both challenging each other to see who would break first. However, Billy claimed the upper hand.

"Why don't you take a seat?" he asked. "That way we can get started."

That seemed to snap Kat out of whatever trance she was in. She gave Billy one of her characteristically soft smiles as she made her way to the makeshift hospital table in the Command Center.

Billy let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He headed over to where Kat was.

"I apologize for the discomfort." He tweaked some buttons on a console next to the bed. "These tests are kind of short notice."

"No need to apologize," she chuckling while saying.

Clearing his throat, he continued. "Now, since you guys went out in search for the energy source yesterday, I figured it conducive to ensure you all weren't exposed to any detrimental excess that the source could've provided."

"Well," she said, rubbing her legs out of nerves, "I feel fine, Billy. Great! But, do as you must."

"Alright." He prepared some electrodes to adhere to her body, and explain every step of the way his process.

"These electrode just go on either side of your temple, your inner forearms, and at the pulse areas on your neck. This is just to prove your biorhythms are standard."

"Speaking of bio…"

"What's the first event after the fertilization of a zygote?"

Biting her lip, she answered, "Cleavage?" At his nod, she was encouraged.

"Morphological differences between two animals of the same species?"

"Sexual dimorphism." He nodded again.

"You know, I didn't believe it when Tanya told me to quiz you while you were here."

"Really?"

"Well, _told_ me as in threatened everything I hold near and dear."

They both shared a laugh at that.

"Tanya is quite concerned for me," Kat admitted. "She's seen me at my worst back at home."

"You have nothing to be worried about," he reassured, "…so far."

Toying with a few more buttons on the console, he continued his questioning. "Which muscle protein is phosphorylated?"

She focused on the space ahead of her. "Myosin. Aka globular heads."

"What is a taxis?"

"It involves movement away from a stimulus." She turned towards Billy, feeling a light switch flick in her mind. "What is osmoregulation?"

Without even hesitating, Billy automatically replied, "the control of water and solute levels." He turned back towards her. "Does it help if you ask the questions?"

Kat didn't respond. Instead she started removing the electrodes off her body and moved closer to where Billy stood.

"What is a fixed action pattern?"

"A series of instinctive behaviors expressed in response to an external stimulus."

She took another step closer. Billy grew confused.

"Pheromones?"

"Secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a response in members of the same species." Not only was he confused, but roused? "Kat, wha…"

Another few steps.

"_Canis lupus?_" she whispered.

"A grey wolf," he said in an equally quiet tone.

Kat drew closer to him, practically breathing his air. Billy remained still, transfixed on her every action. He reached out slowly, painfully slowly towards Kat's neck. His fingertips rested on her pulse point.

'Her pulse is _racing_!' he thought. But her pulse contrasted with her expression, as she closed her eyes at Billy's touch seeming serene and at peace, and tilted her head towards his palm, lifting his hand as if a pet would to its master.

The alarms of the Power Chamber broke their moment.

Kat's eyes flew open and she took several steps away.

Billy looked nervously everywhere, except at Kat, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Aa: basaltic lava having a rough surface. AAM: air to air missile. Aardvark: a large, nocturnal, burrowing mammal, _Orycteropus afer, _of central and southern Africa, feeding on ants and termites and having a long, extensile tongue, strong claws, and long ears…"

Kat looked at him peculiarly. 'Was he reciting the dictionary?'

"Mondo, Mondo," he mumbled. "Mondo!" Billy said in a clear voice, realizing the situation. He rushed over to the viewing globe, with Kat following quickly behind.

Mondo stood at Angel Grove Park with an army of Cogs terrorizing anyone there.

"Let's test out some of these new and improved upgrades, Cogs!" King Mondo stated excitedly. "Attack!"

Billy turned to face Kat, but from where she was standing, they once again met too close.

They both, grasping how close they were, took a quick step backward, away from each other.

Nervously chuckling, Billy straightened his posture. "You better head down there. The others are…"

"..probably waiting," she finished for him. "Right. Right."

She positioned herself in the center of the Power Chamber.

"It's morphin' time!"

* * *

><p>"General Gear, all is going according to plan!" Specialist Brass exclaimed walking behind his supervisor. "Things are all going famously. King Mondo decided to attack Earth today and brought along almost all the Cogs that had the…" he hesitated before whispering, "…system upgrades applied."<p>

"Perfect," General Gear nodded in approval. "If this works, then we will apply the same technique on all the Cogs at once."

The pair walked into their secret location, just a ways from the Army area, and viewed the upcoming battle. Specialist Brass grabbed a megaphone and handed it to Gear. He looked at his assistant in confusion.

"General, it's for the Cogs to _hear_ you with," Brass explained. "You speak into the altered cone and the Cogs should receive your orders."

General Gear roughly took the megaphone from Specialist's hands. "Gimme that."

Clearing his throat, General began to speak. "Cogs, this is General Gear. You are now under my command…"

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><p>Thank you all for reading! Spread the word.<p> 


	4. The Results

Disclaimer and enjoy! Read, read, read!

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><p>Five rangers all stood opposite King Mondo and his Cogs.<p>

"Power Rangers, Zeo!"

"Cogs," Mondo addressed, "attack will you?"

The minions started to fight the rangers; the rangers fought back.

Inside the Cogs, a small wire fed static into their heads. "Cogs, listen to me," General Gear voice sounded, a bit muffled. "This is General Gear and you shall do as I say. Only attack the Yellow Ranger. Understood?"

The Cogs temporarily stopped fighting, and proceeded towards Tanya.

* * *

><p>Billy stood watching the viewing globe.<p>

Alpha shuffled towards where he stood. "Billy!" the robot exclaimed. "Here are Kat's test results."

"Thanks, Alpha." He took the papers with a nervous hand and gave them a scan.

'Normal?' he mentally questioned. 'How could they all read normal? Something is definitely not right.'

The lines on the graph started to move before him. He squinted out of confusion. The paper now clearly 'BAD W' before he threw the papers on the ground in shock.

* * *

><p>"Guys! I could really use some help!" Tanya cried. An army cornered her and Cogs were attacking her on all sides.<p>

Adam rushed over and flipped a Cog to the ground that was headed straight for Tanya.

But the Cog got right back up and made its path towards the Yellow Ranger.

Tommy came in with roundhouse kick and took a few out, but they were still making their procession.

"Don't worry Tanya," Tommy reassured. "We can handle this."

* * *

><p>"The Cogs are doing exactly what you wanted, General," Specialist reaffirmed. "The rewiring appears to have worked!"<p>

General Gear gave a hearty chuckle. "Oh yes, it is all but too easy." He repositioned the altered megaphone to his mouth. "Time for a new plaything, Cogs."

The muffled static resurfaced once again. "Now, time to attack the Green Ranger."

The Cogs all turned to face Adam. After a quick scan, they found their next target.

All the Cogs preceded their march.

"Cogs!" King Mondo cried. "Attack all the rangers! Not one by one! What are you doing?"

Some of the Cogs continued towards Adam. Some strayed and began to attack the other rangers like Mondo commanded.

The General, seeing him lose some of his army turned to Brass. "Specialist! Do we have a punishment for those Cogs whom waiver?"

Specialist bowed his head knowingly. "Um…no sir."

"Then get down there and fix it!" **Clank!**

* * *

><p>"Adam, watch out!" Rocky called as he threw a punch. Most of the Cogs had their focus on the Green Ranger.<p>

Kat delivered a drop kick to a nearby Cog. Tanya back flipped to get away from a few of her own.

"Guys," Tommy signaled. "Time for the Power Weapons!"

"Right!"

"Power Disc!"

"Power Double Clubs!"

"Power Axes!"

"Power Hatchets!"

"Power Sword!"

* * *

><p>Alpha raised his hands in worry. "Ay yi yi yi yi! The Cogs are giving the rangers a hard time! Do you think Mondo is planning something?"<p>

"It is best to focus on the battle at hand," Zordon recommended, "but keep our eyes open for any possible attacks by Mondo's monsters."

Billy stared transfixed at the globe as the team fought, but his eyes kept shifting to one fighter in particular, the words 'BAD W' taunting him in his mind.

* * *

><p>"That landing was rough!" Specialist Brass declared in Angel Grove Park. Gear kicked him to Earth to try to fix the Cogs faulty rewiring.<p>

"Oops, better not let Mondo catch me!" He tiptoed over to a nearby tree, out of sight from the King. He held out a remote that controlled that was connected to the cables in the Cogs head.

"Maybe this will work."

He turned the remote dial up to 100, the max.

'This better work,' General thought as he saw Brass on Earth toying with the remote. The Cogs all now stood straight and stopped whatever fighting they were doing.

"Cogs, this is General Gear. You are to listen to my command," he boomed into the megaphone. "Attack the Pink Ranger. I repeat, attack the Pink Ranger."

The Cogs focused their attention to Kat.

* * *

><p>Billy once again read over the results he had compiled for all the rangers. Kat's graph was perfectly fine, as if the lines had never moved at all. He shook off his momentary disillusion as he looked at the graphs again. 'There's nothing wrong. I should be glad,' he contemplated. 'Why am I constantly looking for something wrong?'<p>

He gazed over to the viewing globe once more. The Cogs had started their assault against Kat. Billy felt his heart lurch forward. His knuckles began to turn ghost white as he clenched his fists. He looked to Tommy. 'Tommy will help, Tommy will help…' he mentally repeated. He took deep breaths and solely concentrated on Kat.

* * *

><p>"Don't worry, Kat!" Tanya said, clubbing a couple of Cogs. Kat surveyed the situation. Rocky and Adam were able to double-team a few Cogs in the back and Tommy was currently wrestling one of his own. Despite what Tanya said, she began to worry.<p>

Then, her circular visor began to cloud her vision with gold dust and a soft growl in her helmet. She felt renewed and powerful, and suddenly her teammates blurred into the background as tunnel vision heightened her senses.

She whipped her disc around like a boomerang to hit a circle of Cogs, leaving her arms and legs free. Kat forward flipped and high kicked a Cog, using it as momentum to back flip and hind kick another. She twisted the arm of Cog, forcing him to the ground, then side kicked a nearby minion. Punching one approaching her in the chest, she handed it an uppercut for good measure, knocking the Cog down like a bowling pin.

Kat kneed a Cog in the abdomen, hitched kick one in the face, and roundhouses kick another all down to the ground. By this time, she retrieved her disc.

* * *

><p>Billy watched from the viewing globe in slight bewilderment, but overall impressed and incredibly proud. He drew a slight smirk as he saw the rest of the team standing around in shock.<p>

He continued to watch as Kat used her disc to push off a few Cogs, and gave a nice hook punch. But then something in that moment caught his eye.

"Alpha, where is the fragment that Adam and Tommy found when searching the desert?" Billy asked.

"It's contained in the storage annex next to Zord Bay," Alpha replied.

Billy had never run faster in his life.

* * *

><p>"Cogs, Cogs! Retreat!" Mondo commanded. "Next time Rangers, it <em>won't<em> be so easy." He struck his staff to the ground disappearing, taking the remaining Cogs with him back to his palace.

"Guess that's my cue to clock out!" Specialist Brass flashed away from his hiding spot.

The rangers, now alone all looked at Mondo as he disappeared, then turned to Kat.

Tommy was the first to approach the Pink Ranger. "Kat…" he said, breathless in amazement, "that was…that was…"

Before he said another word, Kat collapsed, Adam barely catching her before she hit ground.

* * *

><p>Billy was still in the Power Chamber. He placed the metal scrap on a scanner.<p>

"Billy?" Alpha questioned. "We tried scanning the metal before! We couldn't get a clear reading of where it's from."

Billy replied, "I know, but Alpha, I think this time I know where it's from." He typed a few keys on a panel while the scanner loaded.

"But what could it possibly be?" Alpha asked.

A loud **whoosh** interrupted their conversation.

"Oh! Ay yi yi yi yi!"

Billy quickly turned around, facing the five demorphed teens that had teleported in. Adam was holding a limp Kat in his arms. That heart lurching feeling Billy felt before, he felt again, this time ten fold.

He looked to Tommy for answers as Adam carried Kat to the infirmary. Tanya quickly followed.

Only Rocky seem to notice the quiet beeping sound from the scanner panel that Billy was previously working with.

The screen read: **match confirmed**, Zeo Ranger I Power Disc.

* * *

><p>This chapter was a little chaotic, a lot of things going on at once. I was trying to mimic actual battle with the pacing of the scenes. All the chapters won't be like this, I promise. But please read and review! Thanks.<p> 


	5. The Blue

Read, review, repeat. Enjoy.

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><p>Kat lay serenely in the infirmary, still unawake.<p>

"It's most likely exhaustion," Billy deduced as he rechecked Kat's vitals. Billy stood to her right side, opposite Tommy on her left. Tanya and Adam stood at the foot of the bed. "Her overexertion during battle combined with other subsidiary activities surmounted to an stress that strained her system."

Tommy shook his head. "I've just never seen her fight like that."

Tanya nodded in agreement. "It's like something took over her."

"But it was so," Tommy began, "so powerful. So graceful and yet so strong at the same time."

Tanya looked to Tommy with a knowing smile then back to Adam who stood behind her.

"Tommy," she addressed, "we'll leave you alone for a minute." She nudged Adam in the ribs.

"Ow! Wha…" Then a look of realization dawned upon his face. "Oh yeah, what Tan said." Adam turned to walk away. Tanya looked at Billy.

Billy caught her gaze. She tilted her head towards Tommy and gave him a wink before leaving with the Green Ranger.

Billy got the idea. He took a small step backward, but he suddenly felt a tug on his wrist. He looked down. Kat remained perfectly still. Tommy appeared to have noticed nothing.

"Tommy, I'm going to check on some supplies," Billy announced pointing far off to a cabinet. Hopefully this would give Tommy enough privacy, but allow Billy to stay close…

'Close enough,' Billy reasoned in his mind. 'But never too close.'

As he looked at the pair, Tommy's red complimenting Kat's pink, he smiled sadly.

'Never too close.'

* * *

><p>Rocky ran up to the door just as Adam and Tanya had made their exit. "Hey, is Billy still in there?"<p>

"Yes, but don't go in!" Tanya warned. "We wanted to give Tommy a few minutes alone."

"Oh," Rocky said. He shrugged at Adam who returned the shrug.

Tanya headed towards the center of the Power Chamber. "You two can stay here, I'm heading back to Ernie's to get Kat and I's things."

"Good idea," Adam praised. "I figure whenever the diagnosis is for her, it'll include plenty of rest."

"You'll let me know if anything happens?"

"Of course."

'Am I even here?' Rocky thought to himself. 'Why am I even here? _Ay dios mio,_ if they say something sickeningly cutesy…'

"Rocky?" Adam waved his hand in front of the Blue Ranger. "Are you alright?"

It broke Rocky's train of thought. He focused on Adam with a smile. "I'm fine, just spaced out. Did Tanya go already?"

"Yeah," he replied, his eyes glazing with fondness for the Yellow Ranger. "Did you want her to get something for you? Are you sure you're okay?"

Rocky put a hand up to reassure him. "I'm fantastic, Adam."

"What are those?"

"I'm really _really_ okay."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "No, what are those in your hand?"

Rocky forgot the documents he held tightly in one hand. "Oh, this is what I wanted to give to Billy."

The graph paper showed a picture of the Zeo Ranger I Power Disc, complete with logistics and other technical jargon Rocky didn't really know.

"It was printing off when we got here with Kat, "Rocky reasoned. "I figured Billy wanted to know something."

"Think it had to do with the battle? And Kat going…" Adam asked.

"Kat going Bruce Lee on the Cogs?" he joked. Only Adam wasn't laughing. Rocky cleared his throat. "Maybe," he added in a serious tone.

Adam had walked away to where the scanning panel was, leaving Rocky to mentally berate himself.

'Stupid Rocko, way to go. Not only is your teammate in there unconscious, but you just made a joke about it to your best friend.' He glanced over at Adam standing and chatting with Alpha. Something felt off in his mind. 'Well, _not so quite, but close enough_ best friend.' Rocky would be the first to admit, time got the better of their friendship. 'Time and hormones,' he added. Not blaming Tanya, not blaming anyone, it was just…what it was.

'It still makes me blue sometimes,' he thought downhearted. Then he mentally laughed, 'Ha ha ha ha ha, blue.' Then he mentally backtracked. 'Shoot, this is not the time to crack a joke. But _blue_ is a little funny. I'm not seeing _red_ about it.'

His snort of laughter caught Adam and Alpha's attention.

"Rocky, are you sure…"

"I'm fine, Adam!" Rocky reassured a bit harsher this time. Instead of apologizing upon seeing Adam's frown at his tone, as he normally would've, frustration got the better of him and his words went unspoken as he walked into the infirmary.

* * *

><p>'I just attract the most awkward situations, don't I?' Rocky asked himself. Tommy had pulled up a chair next to Kat and held her hand within his own left, patting her hair with his right. He stopped his motions once Rocky entered, but Rocky could feel he interrupted an all too personal moment.<p>

"Rocky!" Tommy said surprised.

"Hi, just checking for Billy…"

"Over here!" Billy's voice sounded from the cabinet.

Rocky walked over to him, handing him the papers as soon as he was in arms reach. "Here you go. It was printing off as soon as we teleported back."

It was the scan of the metal piece. He was right. As soon as he saw it in battle, he knew it. It was part of Kat's shield.

'But how?' he mentally asked.

"Thanks Rocky for getting these to me. I appreciate it."

"Does it have something to do with the battle?" Rocky eagerly asked. "Do you think the shield has some sort of magical powers or…"

Billy tensed. Either to lie or tell the truth…

"Nonsense. After the battle today, I just want to make unquestionable _all_ your Power Weapons were still intact."

He lied! Something had possessed him to lie! To teammates equally as worried, why would he do such a thing? However he bit back a growl of content, as Rocky seemed to take his answer for face value.

Rocky's attention focused to the couple in the infirmary. "They look picture perfect together, like models or something."

This time, Billy's growl was a lot less happy as it sounded from the pit of his stomach. He gave a severe stare to the Blue Ranger, who knew none the wiser.

Rocky was lost in his own mind debate. The colors pink and red right before him, all he could see were green and yellow, green and yellow, green, green, green! He tilted his head down in slight embarrassment at his thoughts.

"I'll catch you later Billy, I gotta go study," Rocky said, leaving the infirmary.

He was about to teleport out when a flash of green stopped him.

"Rocky, wait!" Adam has jogged over to where Rocky stood. "Were you able to get a hold of Billy?"

"Yeah. I'm just going to head back and study. So, don't wait up."

Blue streams were all he was faced with.

* * *

><p>Rocky's interruption halted whatever silent vigil Tommy had.<p>

"Billy? Will we know anything soon?"

'When did Tommy's voice get so…bothersome?' Billy rhetorically asked. "She should wake up soon, but regardless, I'm making her spend the night here." His words were laced with a fierce protection. He hoped Tommy didn't catch the strength of his words.

He didn't.

"She shouldn't wake up alone."

"She won't."

He noticed that time.

The lie flowed easily out of his mouth. "I'm doing a check on all the Power Weapons after today's battle. After that, I planned to get a closer observation at Mondo's Cogs. Something about their attack mannerisms was quite curious to me. I'll be here most of the night."

Tommy nodded absentmindedly, feeling disappointed about something. 'He probably wanted to himself to be the first one she saw when she wakes,' Billy thought. 'Too bad, Falcon,' he internally smirked. 'Game set match, Wolf.'

"I'll let you do, whatever it is you need to," Tommy said in defeat. "But I'll be stopping by later," he added. "And make sure if anything happens…"

"You'll be the first to know."

Tommy left the infirmary. As soon as the door closed, Kat sat straight up.

* * *

><p>Until next chapter...when Kat awakes...<p> 


	6. The Awakening

Disclaimer and thank you for all those visiting and to all those returning! I really appreciate it.

* * *

><p>But if Billy had to describe this…'thing' that was going on with Katherine, he would fail. Give him a test and he wouldn't be able to answer at least one question. Words seem to jumble up in his mind and complicate the situation even more. He only knew what he <em>felt.<em> And Billy liked what he was feeling.

He hated qualitative data.

"How long has it been?" her quiet accent murmured.

_When did her voice become so melodic? _Clearing his mind, Billy responded, "a couple of hours. I imagine you're sore."

Kat stretched out her joints once Billy said something. She rolled her neck attempting to relieve the discomfort. The soft hiss she made in pain set him in high alert. Billy rushed to her side.

"I'm alright, Billy," she stated before he could even open his mouth. "Just sore, like you said."

It didn't still his worry. But he figured the best route for this situation was to let her lead. He took a seat to her right.

He knew he needed to say something, but he'd be none the wiser as to what to what to say. "You weren't asleep." Honesty, he decided, the best policy. "I've…" he stuttered, "**we've** all been worried since you collapsed. I won't ask why, but…"

"Do you know what it's like to not be yourself?" She looked…wounded.

He wanted to react in confusion, but kept his features cool. His silence was enough encouragement for her to continue.

"The best I can describe it as is an out of body experience. Or the worst."

Billy's grimace made her backtrack.

"Well no, it's like, I'm asleep. And there are parts of my memory that are locked away and I can't seem to access them. And I'm not sure I want to."

"Kat, my intentions are not to bring up bad memories condoning your actions when you were under Rita's control."

Kat wrung her hands together in hopes to continue. "Please, just listen."

Billy said no more, and just nodded.

"It seems as if I've woke up. Everything is clearer and brighter and stronger and faster and easier, but…" She began to feel sick to her stomach as her declaration started. Billy noticed Kat looking troubled and rushed to aid her. She knew it was the energy source making her feel this way, a physical reminder to tell her to 'be quiet, you don't know what you're messing with.' Truth that last battle scared her. She was overwhelmed with so much energy that she nearly lost herself. Who knows what would've happened if she didn't regain control somehow?

Billy looked worried. He felt her forehead

She reached out to him, holding his arm. The contact was soothing for the both of them. "Billy…"

"You should rest, Kat. We can continue this talk later."

She shook her head violently.

"Kat, you really should get some rest." He didn't want to leave her looking this vulnerable.

"Don't go," she softly uttered. It was enough to knock Billy off his guard. "Stay until I doze off?"

He was speechless as he sat back down in the chair across from her. Kat still had a grip on his arm.

"I don't expect you to read my mind, Billy," she softly murmured as unconsciousness seeped through, "but I feel that you can, somehow, make sense…"

She dozed off.

Of course she dozed off.

'Why can't someone give me answers?'He mentally asked. 'A sign to lead me the right way?'

With Kat's grip on his forearm, a gold dust began to radiate from her hand. Billy was transfixed, the sight making the hairs on the back of his neck stand straight. The dust cloud hovered above his arm, feeling like light footfalls on his arm tickling him. He stared at Kat, who looked none the wiser in her slumber.

_Maybe if I can…_Billy sought to trap the dust in a beaker, hoping to conduct tests on the gaseous substance in relation to Kat's behavior. He attempted to extract his arm from her grasp.

At the slight pull of his arm, Kat fiercely opened her eyes to stare at the bespectacled genius and sat up.

He stopped his movements to meet her stare head on.

She looked at her grip on his forearm and slowly moved her hand to meet his.

Slightly sweaty, he could feel her hesitancy as she raised their joined hands at eyelevel. Gold dust was still circulating, but now a blue cloud had emitted from Billy's hold, mixing with the gold dust in an intricate dance, reflecting the dim light of the infirmary in almost a beautiful, seemingly natural…

The infirmary door slid open to reveal a flash of yellow entering.

* * *

><p>"Are we counting this as a fail, or…"<p>

"Just shut up."

General Gear and Specialist Brass were speaking in hushed tones on their way to meet the Royal Family on the Observation Deck to discuss the latest attack on the rangers.

"Well the Cogs responded to your commands, General. I believe it was a success."

"Are the rangers still standing?"

"Yes, but…"

"Then we have failed."

King Mondo slammed his staff angrily, halting Brass and Gear's conversation.

"What happened? Orbus, Klank?"

The two minions looked at each other then to Mondo, their gears vibrating with fear.

"Never mind," Mondo cried, frustrated. "We shall inspect the Cogs later for bugs, but for now, I want a monster that will effectively crush those rangers and let me rule Earth."

"Excellent plan, Father," Prince Sprocket exclaimed.

Sensing the meeting was over, General Gear and Specialist Brass dispersed, until Gear was halted by a rogue figure on his exit path.

"Kaboom," Gear sneered in hushed tones, "you best have a reason for approaching me like this." The pair was out in the dim hallway, in plain view of anyone who walked by.

"Just thought to let you know, we've started the search for the Power Light tonight."

"What? Power Light?"

"Yes, that really powerful light thing you were describing to us. We mutually agreed to call it the Power Light. Thought the name was smoother."

Gear sighed in contempt. "Keep going."

Louie Kaboom looked positively giddy at sharing hi news. "We've sent Borax and a group of his hunters to raid Triforia by dawn."

"WHAT?!"

Gear grabbed Louie by the arm, pulling him into a corner in the hallway, a place to cloak their figures and voices.

"Where did Borax get the idea to attack on his own?"

"We wanted to progress faster, General. Well, Borax had all time in the world, but King Aradon and I wanted results."

"What did you think the Cog attack today was?"

"We didn't know! We've getting impatient!"

Gear flexed his robot arm tighter around Louie's, attempting to cut off circulation.

"General, I understand you're a little upset about the pace some of your co-conspirators may possess," Kaboom began nervously, "…but,…but maybe this is best."

"Explain yourself."

"While you keep the power brats busy, we can search the planets for the Power Light! See?"

Gear growled before he roughly jerked Louie's arm before letting go and leaving the shaded area.

Cause forbid he concede that Kaboom actually had a bright idea.

* * *

><p>Buckle your seats cause I'm shifting into turbo...lol bad joke.<p> 


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